LITTLE ROCK
Students at Arkansas’ three historically Black colleges will benefit from $115,000 in scholarship money that is available for the coming school year, money that school leaders said Friday will enable some young people to stick with their education.
“We know what’s going on today,” said Walter Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock. “There are people struggling, asking ‘How am I going to afford college this year?”’
The money, approved last year by the Legislature, is being divided equally among Philander Smith and Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Sen. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, said he will work to make the appropriation a regular one.
The scholarship fund was named for longtime activist Ellen Carpenter, who was in attendance for the news conference at her alma mater of Philander Smith. Three scholarships of $5,000, six of $2,500 and 85 of $1,000 are available. Students can apply starting Aug. 4 through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
To apply, the students will have to write an essay on the importance of historically Black colleges in Arkansas.
“That’s not too much to ask,” UAPB Chancellor Lawrence Davis said.
